What is your opinion about the use of qualitative methods on researches (e.g. case studies, action researches) in Operations Management Field?
Guilherme - my opinion is the same as it is for any discipline. Qualitative insight is equally important as quantitative. To me, regardless of topic, it is a limited worldview if we only view our disciplines according to numerical outcomes i.e. 'how often does something happen' if we don't compliment it it with narrative insight i.e. 'what is the experience of what happened'. Better still, for me, is that we don't 'divorce' qualitative from quantitative if we can avoid it - especially in adopting mixed method approaches. We also need to be clear about paradigm positions. For instance, you classify action research as qualitative here. I don't. Action research, to me, is mixed methods (the 3rd paradigm). Action research can contain as much quantitative, if not more, methods than qualitative. The same say with Delphi - which can be more quantitative than qualitative - yet is still often classified as qualitative.
The two attached resources may assist. One - an article that links action research with project management - a common approach in operations management. The other is a mixed methods chapter - containing action research. Note that it is not a qualitative research chapter.
Dear Guilherme
After reading what Dean Whitehead wrote, I believe that I can't add anything.
Especially important for me is this sentence . 'how often does something happen' if we don't compliment it it with narrative insight i.e. 'what is the experience of what happened'.
There are infinite quantitative aspects in Operations Management, and normally we don't use them as they are, but normally we analyze them and enrich their contents with our subjective appraisal
Qualitative research allows researchers to give their opinions on the results
Dear Marcelo
I agree with you, because I maintain that the decision initial matrix should be formulated representing a scenario as it is, without preferences or assumptions. Of course, in case we have subjective criteria there are much better methods than using DM intuitive preferences to extract some reliable numbers, by using surveys and polls, MonteCarlo, statistics, etc.
It is at the end, when there are objective results generated by a mathematical method, without any kind of DM interference, that he can use his judgement, knowledge and expertise to analyze the result and modify initial conditions, criteria, and even reject the result if he considers that it does not represent vital aspects, because were not considered in the initial matrix, but now he is based on a mathematical result, not on something that was consequence of personal preferences, and consequently biased
The following papers may further help:
- Barratt, M., Choi, T. Y. and Li, M. (2011) Qualitative case studies in operations management: Trends, research outcomes, and future research implications, Journal of Operations Management, 29, 4, pp. 329-342.
- Stuart, I., McCutcheon, D., Handfield, R., McLachlin, R. and Samson, D. (2002) Effective case research in operations management: a process perspective, Journal of operations management, 20, 5, pp. 419-433.
- Voss, C., Tsikriktsis, N. and Frohlich, M. (2002) Case Research in Operations Management, International Journal of Operations and Productions Management, 22, 2, pp. 195-219.
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